S9E8 - Bellerophon and Pegasus pt 2 - It All Goes Wrong

stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features weapons of war, hubris, tactical retreats, and the death of a hero.

Welcome back to Greaking Out, everybody.

We have the second part of a two-parter going on.

Now, we're telling the story of Bellerophon and the flying horse Pegasus.

So, to recap, Bellerophon has gotten himself into a jam.

Bellerophon was not made into a fruit spread.

He was in such a pickle that...

Nor was he preserved in vinegar or brine with vegetables.

Okay, all right.

You know what?

He was in trouble.

How about that?

Is that better?

Yes.

Thank you.

Okay, good.

All right.

Now, quick recap.

Pegasus threw a guy from a Horus, accidentally killing the guy.

Bellerophon witnesses it.

And now everybody's mad at Bellerophon somehow and not his murderous demigod Horse Brother.

But anyway, King Iobades had told Bellerophon that if he did three heroic deeds, then the slate would be wiped clean.

He would be forgiven.

So the young hero was eager to take on these tasks, not only to right the wrongs, but also to kind of prove himself as a hero.

The first task, defeat the deadly chimera, which was a fire-breathing animal with a lion's head, a venomous snake for tail, and, well, there's also a goat head growing out of its stomach or its back.

Anyway, Bellerophon was able to defeat the dreaded chimera, and King Iobades had to figure out another way to get the young demigod killed.

That's right, King Iobates thought Bellerophon was the worst kind of criminal and was doing that thing where you try to kill somebody by asking them to do really dangerous things.

Your next task, the king proclaimed when Bellerophon had returned exhausted from fighting a mythical beast, is to defeat the Sorlini people.

They are dangerous and they live near our northern border.

This was a little less clear as heroic tasks go.

Vanquishing a monster that was terrorizing the countryside was pretty clear-cut, but becoming a weapon of war, that was a little more ambiguous.

Ambiguous can mean unclear or inexact or not obviously one thing or another.

This task is not very clearly a good thing to do.

But Bellerophon had to make amends and he wanted to be a hero so he did what he was asked.

With Pegasus and Bellerophon on the scene, Iobades saw that he had a new weapon and an advantage and he used it.

Although his goal was originally to kill Bellerophon, Iobades figured that he might as well take out a few of his enemies along the way.

And it turned out to be a much longer task, more like a full-time job.

Iobadis and his people had been battling back and forth with the neighboring Salimis for a long time, and the Salimis were brave and ferocious fighters who were hard to defeat.

They didn't have sophisticated weapons or armor, but they had so many warriors that they had overpowered Iobadis' men many times.

But the Salimis had not expected to be attacked from the sky.

They couldn't overwhelm a soldier who could just fly away.

There were many battles and skirmishes, but eventually the Salimis were forced to return to the north, and Bellerophon had completed another task for King Iobades.

The king was happy to hear that the Salemis had retreated, but he was getting a little worried about how hard killing Bellerophon was turning out to be.

He was almost out of ideas when fate stepped in.

A breathless messenger stumbled into the court to inform the king that Lyca had been invaded by a group of legendary Amazon warriors.

In Greek mythology, the Amazons were female warriors who could match or even defeat most men in strength, agility, and combat.

There are many references to them in historical writings, but experts still do not have definitive proof.

that they existed.

Without a word, Bellerophon sighed and stood up.

He walked over over to where Pegasus was grazing and climbed back up into the saddle on the mighty winged stallion.

Both the man and the horse gave a little nod to the king, and then they leaped into the sky in search of yet another chance to prove themselves heroes.

This time, King Iobates sent one of his spies to follow along as best they could.

He wanted to know the outcome of the battle as soon as possible.

Well, the Amazons were just as surprised as the Salemis to see a man on a flying horse challenge them, but they were more skilled and better equipped.

Bellerophon ducked just in time to narrowly avoid a javelin thrown with more force than he'd ever seen.

He notched his bow and began to rain arrows down upon the Amazons from the sky.

Bellerophon had become quite skilled as an archer by this point, and the Amazons had no answer for that kind of firepower.

Their arrows and spears were either dodged or harmlessly blown off target by the flying horse's massive massive beating wings.

The Amazons quickly realized this wasn't just a battle they couldn't win.

It was one they couldn't really even fight.

Still, they persevered until their quivers were empty of arrows and all of their spears were lost or broken.

If you know anything about Amazons, you know this is very on brand for them.

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't actually even have a word for quit in their language.

Reluctantly, very reluctantly, the Amazon warriors decided to retreat, retreat, and Bellerophon and Pegasus were victorious once again.

When his spy brought him this news, King Iobades was frustrated.

He had no more chances to try and kill Bellerophon, and Bellerophon, for sure, had to die.

He read his son-in-law's letter again, detailing all the criminal things Bellerophon had done, and was satisfied that he was doing the right thing.

This letter sent to Iobades is arguably the first reference to letter writing described in all of ancient Greece.

Homer talks about it in the Iliad.

Wait, hold on.

The first letter ever?

Really?

It's not even clear it was a letter, but he says Proteus sent dire signs, having written in a folded tablet, many soul-destroying things.

Whoa, soul-destroying things is pretty intense.

It's a little over the top.

Well, then, you can imagine how determined King Iobates was to see Bellerophon dead.

And if King Iobates wanted to see Bellerophon dead, he was just going to have to do it himself.

The only chance he had was the element of surprise.

And with that, I think this is a good place for a commercial break.

I mean, not that there's ever really a good place for a commercial break, but if there was to be a good place, this would probably be it.

Anyway, we'll be back in a little bit.

Just take a break.

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Okay.

And now back to more greaking out.

Late that night, Pegasus touched down in the courtyard of the king's king's palace, and Bellerophon, weary and sore from battle, climbed down from the saddle.

There were only a few torches lit, but Bellerophon thought he could make out a group of soldiers standing by the stables.

He raised a hand in a friendly wave, but instead of a wave back, the soldier threw something at the pair.

It was a rope and a hook, and then someone threw another.

and again another, and in a few seconds there was a rope around Pegasus' neck holding him to the ground, and Bellerophon found himself surrounded by soldiers from the king's elite guard.

He had been ambushed.

The king's guard had a good strategy for the attack.

They thought they would win the battle if they kept Pegasus from flying.

They wouldn't have to worry about an attack from above if they kept the horse on the ground.

But they weren't prepared for how well Pegasus could fight.

Which is weird considering all of this was happening because Pegasus had actually thrown someone to their death not too long ago, but whatever.

Pegasus was held fast by the ropes with 10 men on the other end keeping him from taking flight.

So rather than fight the ropes, he took on the soldiers too.

He kicked with his legs, sending the king's guard flying and he used his mighty wingspan to push them back again and again.

The force of the average horse's kick is estimated to be 2,000 psi or pounds of force per square inch with a speed of about 200 miles per hour.

The force of a demigod horse kick has never been measured.

Bellerophon had grown into a great fighter in his own right.

Though he'd been untested at the start, he'd killed a mythical creature and fought in two wars at this point.

So even exhausted as he was, he still managed to fight back, besting soldier after soldier as they tried to bring him down.

When it was all over, There was no one left standing but the demigod and his magnificent horse, who was also a demigod.

There was no doubt now that Bellerophon and Pegasus were bona fide heroes.

King Iobades saw that clearly.

As he watched the battle unfold from his balcony, the king began to realize how wrong he had been and how much he had misjudged Bellerophon.

This young man was clearly favored by the gods, and that favor would not have been given to someone who had truly behaved the way his son-in-law had described in this letter.

When the king stepped into the courtyard, Bellerophon reached for his sword.

His arms were heavy, and he was out of breath, but he would fight if he had to.

Hold, hold, hold, sir, the king begged, his arms out in a peaceful gesture.

I have done you great wrongs, even greater than this cowardly attack in the courtyard.

Please, let me explain, and then do with me what you will.

Reluctantly, Bellerophon lowered his sword and let Iobades speak.

King Iobades started from the top and told Bellerophon everything.

What was in the letter, the lies from King Proteus about the murder of the messenger, everything.

Well, the king knew that apologies were just words, so he decided to find another way to make amends.

Iobades offered Bellerophon half of the kingdom of Lyca, including the part with the best farmlands.

He also suggested a marriage between Bellerophon and his daughter, Philonone.

Bellerophon considered this offer carefully and spoke with Philonone about the offer.

Eventually, he decided to accept and he married the beautiful Philonone and became a king.

As it turns out, Bellerophon really was a good king and a great warrior.

Over time, his kingdom became a peaceful and prosperous place to live, and he was loved by his subjects and his family.

He ruled his lands for a while and everyone always told him how much of a great hero he was.

In fact, they said he was such a great hero that he belonged with the greatest hero of all time, Heracles.

But Heracles wasn't on Earth.

He was on Mount Olympus with the gods.

In fact, Palerophon thought one day, that's where I deserve to be too.

Why hadn't the gods recognized how amazing he was?

Why hadn't Zeus welcomed him onto Mount Olympus yet?

The question nagged at him until one day he was walking his grounds and he saw Pegasus flying through the air.

And that's when he got an idea.

It was a really, really, really, really bad idea, as it turns out.

But at the time, it made all the sense in the world to Bellerophon.

If the gods would not invite him to Mount Olympus, he would invite himself.

He would fly Pegasus all the way up to the realm of the gods.

This is a pretty perfect definition of hubris or excessive pride that is often punished by the gods.

Yeah, unfortunately for Bellerophon, he was about to find out what the consequences of hubris can be.

As he fixed the saddle to Pegasus, Bellerophon could see the concern in his old friend's eyes.

Not to worry, old boy, he reassured the horse.

I will be welcomed at Olympus.

Who is more deserving than than me to be among the gods?

Well, if you've followed along with any of these stories, you can guess how this is going to end.

And Pegasus could too.

He bucked and reared a bit as Bellerophon climbed onto his back, but the rider held fast, and soon the pair were soaring above the clouds, headed right for the gates of Mount Olympus.

Naturally, Zeus had heard all of this and was not happy about it at all.

He thinks he belongs here among the gods, Zeus exclaimed angrily.

A seal flights on a flying horse and all of a sudden he's as good as Zeus?

He reached for his thunderbolts, preparing to knock the hero off his horse and out of the sky, but it was Athena and Poseidon who stayed his hand.

Poseidon tried to convince Zeus that Bellerophon meant no offense.

He was just curious.

And Athena pointed out that Pegasus would look really good pulling Zeus' chariot.

Fine, said the king of the gods.

I will not strike him down with my foot.

The other gods breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed for a moment until Zeus said,

But who can tell what a gadfly will do?

And then he opened his hand and released a tiny fly into the sky.

Gadfly is another term for a fly that bites animals and livestock, such as a horse fly or bot fly.

It can also be used to describe an annoying person.

That's always around.

Bellerophon, meanwhile, was ecstatic.

The air felt warm and sweet, and he could see the gates of Olympus off in the distance.

As he urged Pegasus to go higher and faster, he heard the horse suddenly cry out in pain.

Without warning, the horse bucked and threw his rider off into the sky.

As he fell back to Earth, Bellerophon caught a quick but clear glimpse of Pegasus' sad eyes before he plunged beneath the clouds

you might have thought that was the end for Bellerophon but the gods weren't gonna let him get away that easy he actually survived the fall but was unable to walk and unable to see he wandered the earth for the rest of his days looking for his beloved friend Pegasus

Pegasus, meanwhile, did make it to Olympus, where Zeus totally stole Athena's idea and used him to pull his chariot.

That's it for this episode of Greaking Out and the story of Bellerophon.

Come back next week for some creative goddesses.

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Jillian Hughes and Kenny Curtis and hosted by Kenny Curtis, with Tori Kerr as the Oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Dr.

Diane Klein is our subject matter expert.

Emily Burkette, Laurie Boda, and Juliana Schiavo are our producers, and Emily Everhart is our senior producer.